Jaded
by dyingforsomefiction
Summary: Elphaba Thropp, not remotely thrilled with the prospect of high school, finds herself stuck. Her parents want her to be social, but when Glinda, the school beauty queen, becomes her lab partner, and Fierro, the school heart throb, refuses to leave her alone, she begins to question why she was so stubbornly set on becoming an outcast.
1. Jaded

Disclaimer: This is a real world AU, so while there is no magic, there will be lots of references! :) I don't own any of the characters, but I love the show and the book. I hope you enjoy the story and tell me what you think!

Elphaba shook her head, feeling a darkness emanate off of her, silencing her father as he drove her to the local high school. She could not believe that her father had insisted on her going to a regular, out of the way high school. She had no desire to be there, with regular teenagers.

Elphaba knew that she was not the best person in the world. She knew that she was actually quite rude, leaving tact behind in an effort to abandon useless communication. Ever since she had been little, science had been her world. To her, there was no point in going here, when she could have gone on to college earlier. She was considered to be a child prodigy of sorts, though her progress was slow through the school system because her father intentionally meant to make her spend the formative years of her life under his roof, with people her age. She felt old all of the time, exasperated that she was going to be forced to spend so much of her time with girls that only wanted to talk about boys or makeup, or guys that wanted nothing but to make awkward social or sexual advances on girls.

Having a lot of time to herself, the past few years, had helped her to realize that she wasn't oblivious to the feelings of those around her. For example, she had stopped fighting the decision for her to be sent here, to this god forsaken place, simply because it was going to prove to be fruitless no matter where she was sent. There was no point in disappointing her father any more than she already had. Her father was a pastor of a small church of fervent believers on the edge of town. Personally, Elphaba had no use for faith, apart for the food that it tended to provide her family and the fact that it paid the rent.

Her father, a man of faith, clashed against his daughter, because she loved science. She believed that the universe had been created out of nothing. She knew that eventually one day the sun would collapse and the earth would be swallowed up in flames. This was of no interest to her father, so she had given up trying to explain the details to him. She let him by happy, let him believe whatever he wanted, as long as he let her believe that faith was ludicrous.

He pulled up to the school, looking to her in the rearview mirror.

"I hope that you have a good day, Elphie. Make friends, okay?" His words should have been kind, but instead, she only heard the lack of interest and disappointment that he felt in and for the daughter that had refused his way of life, his faith. She knew that he wished she were more like her sister, wished that Elphaba was not actually the spawn of the man that her mother had cheated with so long ago. Elphaba knew the truth, but continued to acknowledge this man as her father, because she had no clue who the other man was, and honestly, at least she knew what she was going to get from the man forcing her into this wretched place.

Elphaba looked down at her plain black dress, the black leather jacket that she wore on top of it. If she didn't know better, if her hair weren't also black, if she weren't odd enough that she might as well have green skin, since she already stuck out like a sore thumb, she would have assumed that she was Wednesday Addams. She sighed, responding, "Yes, father." There was no affection in her voice, only compliance. She knew that the easier she was on him, the more time she would be allowed to spend pouring over science and actual fun things later on in the evening.

She got out of the car, her black and white Converse sneakers hitting the pavement. She walked up to the doors at the front of the school, ignoring all of the stares from the people around her, just intent on going to get her schedule, so she could go read in her first class.

She walked into the front office, looking for a secretary, a dull, bored look on her face. The bright, lovely lady on the other side of the counter smiled looking up, only to falter when she saw Elphaba.

"Hi, my name is Elphaba Thropp, do you know where I could get my schedule? I am new to this school." She smiled a sarcastic smile in the lady's direction, knowing it was the most that she could force out of herself at the moment.

"Umm. Sure. Thropp... Thropp. Elphaba, you said? Here you are." She handed over the schedule quickly, also passing over the i.d. that she would have to wear for the rest of the year. She hated lanyards, so she had brought a clip just for this occasion.

"Thank you, ma'am." She nodded in the lady's direction, off to find her first class, which was English. It was on the second floor, and as she headed down the hall, she observed all of the couples in the hallway, all of the best friends walking together, chatting about some useless subjects. She looked down, pausing to make sure she had seen the right room number, and looked up in time to feel somebody smash right into her. It sent her backwards, but she caught herself before she fell, rolling her eyes. She was probably the sorest thumb in the place, how could anyone miss the chick in all black? She looked up again, to see some kind of jock of a guy, with "suave" good looks. 'Of course,' she thought, 'the one person who probably never notices anyone but himself.' She could feel the smug vibes emanating off of his demeanor, radiating out to the whole hallway. He looked at her, shocked, trying not to laugh.

"Maybe watch where you are going next time?" I question sarcastically and duck to the side to keep going down the hall, only three doors away from picking a seat and disappearing into her book.

"Excuse me?" He stepped in her way, indignant.

"You bumped into me," she said, noting the obvious. "So, pay better attention and spread your smugness elsewhere."

He looked taken aback.

"Or give a warning, like this:Excuse me," she drawled, passing him by.

Everyone in the hallway was staring at her, like she had injured an adorable puppy, but it's not like she was wrong. The guy had bumped into her. She found the classroom, slipping inside even though she knew that she was nearly fifteen minutes early. She picked the back, middle seat, so that she wouldn't have to worry about answering too many questions from the teacher.

She pulled out one of her favorite books, _A Brief History of Time,_ picking up where she had left off last night. The time seemed to pass in a hurry, as she read the book for the millionth time, and too soon, she was pulled out of her book by a voice.

"Unbelievable." It was some preppy girl, glaring down at her, an offended look on her face. "That is my seat."

"Really? I didn't see your name on it." Elphaba let her voice assume a musing tone. "Of course, I only briefly looked at the wood, before claiming my territory. Can you show me where your name is?"

Elphaba looked to the girl, an annoyed look on her face.

"Move," the girl said.

"An elegant counter, but I believe that I am going to stay where I am." She glared, hoping the girl would get a grip and pick a new seat.

"Ugh." She stormed off to another desk, occasionally glaring at me before class began, as if me taking the desk that she usually sat at was a big enough deal to unravel her morning.

The bell rang and Elphaba reluctantly put down the book, hoping that this English class was not as boring as the last two schools her father had attempted to make her endure. Then again, she was in sophomore English, so that usually meant some Orwell, maybe a sappy Bronte or Austen, ending with some airy poems about love and childhood. Sighing, she heard someone settle in next to her on her left, so she looked up reflexively. She nearly groaned, but instead she just leaned over to retrieve her Orwell, to reread it for the fifth time. 'Orwell', she mused, 'was not the problem. The useless theories made by teenagers about his complex work. That was the true issue at hand.'

Of course, the person next to her was the smug guy from the hallway, which was probably why the beauty queen was glaring at her with imaginary daggers dancing in her eyes. Honestly, Elphaba wished more than the beauty queen that she didn't have to be next to the jock, or in the class, or even in the building. She could have been in California by now, in a lab, focusing on matters that actually held some significance to the world. Her parents, however, had never learned to think practical thoughts, which left her here with wonder boy and beauty queen suffocating her on both sides.

The teacher walked in, introducing himself.

"Hello class," he said. "My name is Dr. Dillamond. I have degrees in science, math, philosophy, and of course, English."

Elphaba sat up a little more intently, hoping that a man who was smart enough to have a doctorate, or multiple doctorates, would change up the predicted reading schedule a little.

He smiled, saying, "This year, I am hoping to make you question some of the concepts that you have readily accepted or denied. So, prepare to do truly in depth analysis, I can keep up."

He looked to her, asking with his eyes, if she wished to be introduced. She shrugged, not really caring, as everyone was probably going to ignore her or have nothing to do with her anyway.

He nodded, proceeding. "We have a new student with us, Elphaba Thropp. Please stand Elphaba and tell us one of your passions."

She stood, sighed and said, "Theoretical Physics." She sat back down, allowing him to continue. She hoped, that if nothing else, this class at least could pique her interest.


	2. Hoping for Change

**Disclaimer: Still, I have no claim to these characters, I just thought I could have some fun re-imagining them for the world that we live in today.**

 **Please review! I'd love to know what you think!**

 **Thanks for reading! :) -dyingforsomefiction**

Chapter 2: Hoping for Change

Dr. Dillamond, surprisingly, had been able to pique her interests and hold on to them for the rest of the class. She thought back on her father promising that high school would be an enlightening experience.

She gathered her things after class, only to look up and see the guy staring at her. He smiled, a flare of curiosity in his eyes. Elphaba wondered, if she had been different, raised in a different home, or in a different time, if she would feel as isolated as she did, even within the sea of people. A few schools back, she had been genuinely curious to see how she might fit in with the students. The last few schools, however, had done nothing but bore her to tears.

All day, her head had been inundated with useless questions. Useless to her, she clarified in her head. The logic that she attributed to her own standards was a long ways away from reaching any of the students that she had met. More importantly, none of the people that she met ever cared about endangered species, about the exploration of space or of the oceans' depths. No student's curiosity expanded beyond the simple life of prom, English papers, math exams, and what boy or girl they were interested in the most.

"What's your name?" the guy said, across from her. She could feel the daggers in her back, coming from the beauty queen a few seats away.

"Elphaba." Of course, she knew that most people had skipped the hooked on phonics stage in their life, so she saved herself some trouble and said,  
"But, apparently, no one can string those syllables together correctly, so don't even try. You can just call me Elphie, that should be simple enough."

"Okay, Elphaba." He said, "Why are you so angry all the time?" She saw something akin to humor or amusement in his eyes.

"Hmm. Maybe because Blondie over there has no desire in me talking with you, so to save myself some trouble, I'm never going to speak to you again. It'll save you the trouble of feeling you have to be interested and it will save me the problems that I am getting for having picked the wrong seat."

He smiled. "You don't scare me, you know. The angry bit might scare off most people, but I see some kind of fire in you that most of these people don't have."

She smiled back, sarcastically responding, "You light your own fires when no one else wants you around."

She picked up her backpack and he sat back, processing the response that he hadn't expected. She walked to her next class, wondering why he had even tried to talk to her. After the first five schools, Elphaba had decided that anger and some blunt rudeness would scare away everyone. She had tried to be friends with people at one point in time, but she just kept getting hurt. She was invited to a party, only to be the butt of everyone's jokes, asked to lunch so that she could do everyone else's homework while they had a good time.

She had no honest problem with people who weren't as smart as her. her problem, instead, laid with the people who had no interest in caring about anything or anyone but themselves. Given the daggers that Blondie had been giving her, Elphaba knew that it was only a matter of time before she saw the two of them, hitting the hallways as the school's next power couple. Granted, she thought, they had probably already dated before.

"Thropp?" She raised her hand, sitting toward the back of her math class, not trying to bring any attention to herself. Math was one of the easiest subjects for her. It was impersonal. No matter the emotions swirling around inside of her, Elphaba could always make do with what logic she had in her brain. She had been playing around with most of the concepts in this textbook since she was twelve. Math was challenging, math was logical, only having one right answer, or set of answers, all depending on the problem. It was easy for her to like something that she could prove right or wrong.

This, of course, was the reason that she found herself, sitting here, thinking about physics, not paying any real attention to the teacher in front of her. She could do all of the homework for the first few few months of this class in her sleep.

She looked up front, letting her mind wander. The teacher set them onto a problem, and when she finished with ease, and sat back in her chair, the teacher looked over to her. He was in his mid forties, a calculating look in his eyes.

She sat through the rest of class, gathering up her things, when she found the teacher approaching her. Oh great.

"Ms. Thropp?"

"Yes, sir?" she questioned, already bored.

"If I gave you the final for this class today after school, would you pass it?"

"Definitely." She might as well tell the truth, she thought. No point in wasting time pretending to be a normal kid anymore.

He smiled. "Would you prefer it if I gave you homework a little more advanced in the future?"

She looked at him, curiosity rising. "How advanced?"

"Why don't you come by after school today," he said, "and we'll discuss how far ahead you've mastered the material."

"What if I'm beyond high school calculus?" His eyebrows raised a little, then the momentary shock faded.

"Then we'll move on to college level materials."

"Okay, well I might not be able to come today, because of my dad."

"I could call him if.."

"No, he stuck me here for social reasons, not academic ones. Could I pick up a test that I could take home and bring it back for you tomorrow?"

He smiled. "Okay, if that is what you would prefer."

Elphaba nodded, a small smile on her face. She was eager for something that would actually challenge her.

The rest of the day seemed to pass by slowly, as she waited for the end of the day to arrive.

Her biology teacher had paired her up with the beauty queen, which was no thrill for Elphaba, but she could live through it.

Her computer science teacher, bored himself, had given her some fun coding to work on, but wasn't really prepared to challenge her with anything too exciting.

Overall, her father had been right. Her day, especially with the math test in her hands, had been more exciting than she had expected. Granted, he wanted her to make friends, but until she got Blondie off the war path, she was sure that everyone else was forbidden from speaking to her. Maybe, she thought, that might be exactly how she wanted things to be. Maybe she could convince Blondie that she wasn't a threat, but that she should tell everyone what a freak that Elphie character was. It would save Elphaba a huge amount of time, knowing that she didn't have to worry about lying to her father. If the beauty queen hated her, that would be the sufficient reasoning for her lack of friends. She could just assure him that she was trying and he would lay off of her for a little while.

The math test, though within her ballpark, had included some tricky, but very fun problems toward the end. The English teacher, Dr. Dillamond, was having them pick their own classic to read, so she readily chose Tale of Two Cities, a safe but challenging choice. Dickens, she had found, was one of her favorite fiction based authors. He worked with mystery, romance, fate, tragedy, and the unfortunate public reliance on outer appearances, to write his stories. Elphaba found herself relating to Sydney Carton, the man who dies for the woman he loves, so that his look-a-like, more social and charming, could make her happy. She saw herself in Carton, the outcast who was shy and passionate, but never loved for his true nature. She saw what her father wanted her to be in Charles, the suave, charming man with next to no academic intellect. Yes, Charles loved Lucie, but Elphaba thought that Sydney Carton, the man willing to give his life for her, for his rival, deserved someone better. He had deserved a better ending, but alas, Elphaba knew that Dickens had written the truer one, which is what made the ending so devastatingly tragic.

She opened the book, reading late into the night, when she wondered if jock boy had a Sydney Carton look a like. That look a like would be a person who might've actually wanted Elphaba as a friend. She pulled herself together, after reading for a good while, going to bed, and hoping that she might have another intellectually challenging day tomorrow.


	3. Click Your Heels Three Times and You Mi-

**Of course, you could have been spending your time doing literally anything else, so thanks for coming here!**

 **If you like the story, if you hate it, if you just think that the concept is cool, PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I am a relatively new fanfiction writer and I love any and every kind of feedback. :)**

Chapter 3- Click Your Heels Three Times and You Might Be in Military School

Elphaba had dreamed of running away to study science for a few years now. Of course, Elphaba was a rational human being and she knew that it was pointless to run away, as she couldn't work as a scientist in any worthwhile lab in the country or otherwise without parental consent. She was, at the moment, only fifteen years old, which meant that she had at least another two years before she could strike out on her own, ditch the parental units. and actually pursue her life's passion, science.

She smiled ruefully, waking up and realizing that at least her teachers, for the moment, were allowing at least a semblance of free reign, giving her the ability to pursue knowledge, to challenge herself, to seek out passion instead of waiting until her parents said that she was old enough.

She got dressed, in a plain black dress, donning a orange cardigan that flowed down her back, until he felt it on the back of her knees. Black leather, bright cardigans. Though they were a little more extravagant compared to her parents tastes, they were modest enough decisions that Elphaba knew that her parents would have no logical reasons to question her choices.

She walked down the stairs, from her second floor bedroom, looking to grab her breakfast quickly, and get to school as early as she could. As much as the prospect of the dull teenagers she would find there didn't excite her, she was itching to be gone from this house. As much as she hated being here, the school that she disliked already felt like home. School was already a sanctuary that her parents, ironically, were forcing her into for the time being.

She heard someone coming down the stairs, while she ate her cereal and continued to read _A Tale of Two Cities_ , knowing that the sooner she got the jump on her English class, the more leeway she would have for math later. Biology required experiments, where theoretical physics was mostly scientific proofs tested through mathematics applied to well known scientific theorems.

Hence, the reason why it was no surprise, that even though science was her passion, she was seeking to better herself at every opportunity in the field of math. Her father, once, had tried to ask her these questions, soon falling out of interest, both in his daughter and in the subject of conversation, Elphaba assumed. If her father truly loved her, she had wondered, wouldn't he love her for herself, wouldn't his faith tell him to love her as a lost sheep or some other perfect livestock based analogy?

Honestly, Elphaba knew that there was in all likelihood, a higher power somewhere in the universe. She wasn't completely adverse to the concept. However, it was hard to put her finger on a god that would love her, but let her father treat her the way that he did. Even if she wasn't biologically his, wouldn't kindness, goodness, faith, and all of the other good aspects in his faith propel him toward loving her, instead of the other way?

Like most of the world, faith, to Elphaba, was another mysterious enigma, a code that she didn't have enough information to break... yet. Of course, maybe if she was allowed to pursue the science that might allow her to answer those questions, she wouldn't feel so.. uncomfortable with the issues at hand. She smiled, wondering what it would be like, to find herself immersed in faith, knowing that there was so much that she couldn't possibly have answers for, but instead being able to believe that there were answers to it in .. His hands? Honestly, as powerful as women could be, she hoped that the god that ruled the universe, if there was one, was a guy. Guys were so simple, which meant that, maybe just maybe, these questions would have much simpler answers.

Her father drove her to school, and she could practically feel herself, getting happier, less weighed down, the closer she got to escaping the car.

"So.. make any friends so far?"

She hesitated, trying to sound positive. "Well, it has only been one day."

He sighed. "Not any prospects?"

"I'm lab partners with a pretty popular girl." Might as well set up the ground work for the escape later on.

"That's good." He smiled. "See, this is going to be great."

She just nodded, wondering how aloof her father had to be, how willing he must be, to believe that his daughter could grow out of disappointing him. They pulled up to the school and she looked out the window, a fake smile on her face. She was bracing herself to set up the barriers between her and the rest of the human populace in the school.

"Goodbye, Father," she said.

"I'll see you after school, Elphaba."

No "Love you, kiddo" or "Have a good day" today. The charade was already slipping. Honestly, she hadn't expected him to say any of those things the day before. Her little sister, Elphaba knew, had been a complicated pregnancy for her mother, and her sister was handicapped. Though her parents treated Nessarose, or just Rose, like an angel, and though her father had never said it out loud, Elphaba was pretty sure that he placed the hatred that he had for himself on her. She was the child of another man, but in straining the relationship between her mother and himself, her second pregnancy had been stressed, leaving Nessarose handicapped from birth. He blamed Elphaba, because as Elphaba knew well, he saw himself as inferior in the relationship to this mystery man that had seduced her mother.

Elphaba felt the scoffing she constantly felt raising up against her father coming out of her in waves. As she walked by, the people around her could feel the scorn that she held for him, almost vibrating outwards from her body, making them step away from her in fear or more likely in disgust. Either way, she didn't care to do anything before English other than get to the math classroom and hand in the test.

She knocked on the math classroom's door, when she found it closed, and heard no one inside. Instead, she just tacked a sticky note from the pad by the door frame, to the test, that said, "Thropp, reporting for duty" and slipped in under the door. She walked away, heading toward English, slipping in behind the crowd, to find the seat the beauty queen had been in yesterday. She sat down and began to read when she heard the door open. The very empty room filled with hallway noise for a few seconds, until the door closed again. Then she heard some foot steps, coming toward the back of the room. She was reading, but was vaguely aware that someone sat down in the seat to her left.

She looked up, hoping she was wrong, but she wasn't. "Charles" the jock was back, at least, given the story in between her hands, that is what she had named him. His confidence and good looks meant nothing to Elphaba, because Elphaba thought that it was vapid and silly to love someone only for who they were on the outside.

He smiled, and said, "There's no beauty queen to bother you. Will you talk to me now?"

She looked to him, biting down lightly on her lower lip. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you want me to talk to you? I've been nothing but rude to you, and honestly, I don't see that changing any time soon."

He laughed, as if somehow her threatening glare amused him. "Maybe I am tired of hearing only what everyone else thinks I want to hear."

She considered the thought and then said, "Why don't you tell them that you have no interest in what they are telling you, then?"

He paused and then said, "I don't think they would change even if I told them what I thought. You, however," he smiled at her, as if they were co-conspirators, "You don't pretend to be anything other than what you are."

"You're wrong," Elphaba said. "Of course, you would know that you were wrong if you knew me, but you don't."

"Why do you think I'm trying to get to know you, exactly?"

She laughed, a harsh bitterness in the tone. "Maybe you want a new toy to play with," she mused. "Maybe you want help with your homework or you and some friends think it would be funny to pick on the girl who is hated everywhere she goes." She laughed again. "Other than that, I can't see any reason why a guy like you, popular, somewhat decently smart, since you seem to be able to follow along with conversations, would have any logical reason to seek me out." She looked down, back to her book, hoping that he would leave her alone.

"What if I like you?" She felt her heart flutter and didn't know why? Maybe puberty was just trying to screw her over, tell her that the Charles in front of her could be a Sydney Carton if he wanted to, but she didn't trust that instinct.

"Why? What reason could you possibly have for that?" She looked back to him, bitterness on her face, in her voice.

"Well," he said, "You are smart, obviously, if you like Dickens. You have a bite, unlike ninety percent of the girls I've met, and honestly, it is really... fascinating that you won't even give me, the most popular guy in school as you put it, a chance to be your friend."

"I don't have friends." She looked at him, telling him the truth. "Maybe it is because I don't want to end up getting hurt over and over again by some guy who has a pass to do virtually whatever he wants without any repercussions. Maybe I don't want to give you a chance, because it makes me wonder how many people you must have been cruel to in order to gain the admiration of so many other cruel people."

She smiled, a harsh smile, one you get after years of life throwing you under the bus again and again.

"Maybe," he said, getting a little angry, "Maybe I didn't ask for any of this. Maybe I want to be more than that. Did **you** ever think of that?" He asked her this question, as if she had managed to hurt him in some way.

She looked at him, letting the anger leave her for a second, amusement taking its place.

She smiled. "I hope, for your sake, that you do get to be more. I don't trust anyone. I don't get close to people. Maybe, when I look at you..." She winced. "Maybe I see all of the other people, who look just like you, are at the top just like you, who are cruel and have no desire to change."

She saw the shock flash across her face as the anger left, a serious look of concern when she winced and was honest. Other people entered the room and she put all of her walls back up, him still looking at her, wanting to say something. He never found the time to come up with something.

"Fierro!" she heard Blondie on the approach, going to her usual seat. She took outside a Lysol wipe, saying, "You know, that really rude girl sat here yesterday, but she must have realized who was on top, because I see she took her rightful place over there."

Other students were filing in, nobody saying anything to contradict what she said.

"Actually, Glinda," the guy, Fierro, said, "I don't think she's all that bad."

She tensed, waiting for her to feel daggers coming her way, but instead heard Glinda saying, "That's because nobody could possibly be meant to you." She heard Blondie laugh, shuddering at the overly happy sound as it reverberated in the classroom. She was briefly reminded of knitting needles and guillotines. I sighed, knowing that this was how it was going to turn out, him trying and failing to defend the weird girl and then never talking to me again.

Recalled to life- buried for fifteen years. She laughed to herself, thinking about the book and wondering if Bastille had been worse than high school. She knew that it had been, but at about this moment she found herself disappointed by the predictability of the human race.

Fierro laughed. Blondie chuckled a little, but he laughed louder. He turned to me, and I heard him ask, "Elphaba, do you like me?

He knew how I was going to respond. "No." He laughed again and then looked to Blondie again. "I don't like her because she's nice, Glinda. I like her because she is honest." His laughter died down, a little, as Blondie found her seat, but didn't really go away until Dr. Dillamond silenced the class.

"Class, you should have looked over the list last night, picking at least the first of five books that you are going to read this semester." The students groaned and Elphaba shut her book, to pay attention. I'm passing around a sheet, so that I know your first choices." He handed the sheet to the kid at the front and all the way to the left of the class.

"Dr. Dillamond?" Elphaba heard a sandy haired boy ask for the teachers attention. Dr. Dillamond turned to him. "Yes?"

"This isn't going to be a group project, is it?" Dr. Dillamond smiled. "No, this is an individual assessment of your ability to analyze the novels."

Dr. Dillamond paused, looking around the room. "The group projects will come in the Spring."

Elphaba wasn't worried. She highly doubted that her father would let her remain her, with such high quality teachers, for so long.

The list was getting closer. "Now, Class, today we are going to talk about the importance of the author's background on their work. I expect for the background of the author to be at least one of a number of viewpoints that you consider while approaching these works."

The list got to her.

She looked quickly down the list, to see what other people had chosen, practically all of them picking the shortest books on the list. She stopped when she saw a name pick _A Tale of Two Cities._ She looked to the name to see that Fierro had chosen it. She looked over to him and he smiled at her. She huffed out a sigh in unbelief, then wrote the same title by her name. She passed on the piece of paper, looked up, and saw him smiling over at her again.

She gave him a look that said, "What?" He just kept smiling and turned to the front.

She gathered her things after English, hearing the exasperated comments made by Glinda, about the length of the books that Dr. Dillamond had picked. Elphaba chuckled to herself. She figured that Blondie probably hadn't ever read a book that had more than one hundred and fifty pages, at the most.

As she walked out of the class, she heard someone coming up behind her. She stopped, checking her bag, to see if the person would pass her up. **She** didn't, unfortunately.

"Hey." Blondie was speaking and Elphaba did her best to be rude.

"What?"

"Why are you talking to him?"

"Who?"

"Fierro." Blondie said it, as if it were obvious who she was talking about, especially given their last class. Elphaba had known who she was talking about, but it was fun to bug Blondie, to aggravate her.

"You're hilarious if you think that I initiated contact. He started it, get onto him." I smiled briefly, then shot her an annoyed glare and began walking again.

"Well, don't talk to him anymore." She heard Blondie say when she was a few steps away.

"Trust me, I'm already trying my best," Elphaba said, knowing that she was actually telling the truth. She chuckled, wondering whether it was a special gift for her to get people to blame her for things that she had no responsibility for making happen.

She walked to class, wondering if the math teacher, Mr. Hardison, had gotten her exam.


	4. Who Knows Me Better than Myself?

**This fanfic was actually inspired by one of my conversations with my boyfriend, who took me to see Wicked. I always thought that Elphaba was amazing, but I know too many people who can connect with how people treated her. You are worth more than your appearance.**

 **I know that this isn't sticking strictly to the play, or the book for that matter, but I hope that you all enjoy the story. Elphaba is a bit cold now, but with some luck she'll warm up soon! Keep on reading and PLEASE REVIEW. :)**

 **Also, to answer Sophia, you hit it on the nose!**

Chapter 4: Who Knows Me Better Than Myself?

Elphaba found herself walking into the classroom, hoping to have a quiet class, maybe something interesting to work on. Maybe, she thought, he would let her read if nothing else. Surely, she knew that he would know that she was capable of doing all of this work already. There was no one in the room when she walked in, but she saw her "test" on the desk.

She walked to the back and pulled out her copy of Dickens. She was immersed in the middle of the next chapter, when she heard, out of nowhere, someone sit next to her. She looked up, seeing Mr. Hardison with a serious look on his face.

"Ms. Thropp," he said kindly, even though it was obvious that he was frustrated. "What are you doing here?"

She looked around, wondering if she should give the obvious answer. "I'm here for class?" She said it as if it were a question, wondering what else he could mean.

"No, Ms. Thropp. Why are you in high school?" He looked at her, as if she was a problem that he had yet to solve.

"My parents are the ones who insist that I come."

"Even though you've mastered more than an associate's degree worth of knowledge in math, as well as computer science, and probably a few other subjects as well?"

She nodded. "I was offered an early internship at a lab in California, but my parents seem to believe that my time is better spent here." She gestured all around her and sighed. "I don't make enough friends, and my dad, the pastor of a small church nearby, doesn't support me focusing so intently on my studies so early."

He shook his head. "Well, don't worry. I've contacted a friend, a professor at Harvard. He's given me an online copy of a book, to print out and give to you, that should reflect the material on your level."

She tilted her head sideways. "He just gave you a copy of the book?"

"He was the main editor of the book, so yes."

She nodded. "So how is this going to work?"

He smiled. "I'll give you the chapters as handouts, so your parents won't be suspicious, and I'll give you assignments ahead of time, for a week, and see how you do with the rate of progress through the homework I give you."

He handed her the first chapter, which had a sticky note on the front, with the assignments on the sticky.

He walked back to the front of the class, watching her as she began to read the first part of the chapter. She noted that he had placed more practice problems throughout the handout, so that she could practice as need be. She smiled. It was refreshing to know that you had something before that required your full attention.

The class started and people began to file in, she noticed that people, generally, were sitting away from her, just the way she had intended. No one can hurt you, she thought, if they never speak to you or try to be your friend. As long as you got used to the people around you, ignoring you all of the time, which did hurt a little at first, then you could get by with a fairly decent outlook. The bell rang, so she looked up, only to see Fierro. She didn't even know that he had this class with her, though truth be told, she was not paying attention to anyone in this room yesterday.

He came to sit down next to her and Elphaba swore that she saw everyone follow him with their eyes, as if warning him that he shouldn't sit next to her. She smirked. Maybe she had overdone the fear quotient just a little. Unless, of course, she wasn't the reason that they avoided her like the plague. She guessed that she had been right to think that Blondie would scare the masses away from the evil witch of a teenager that was Elphaba Thropp.

He began taking out his journal and his math book, when he looked over to her, confused. "Did you forget your math book?"

She chuckled. "You can share mine," he said, a charming smile on his face.

"I didn't forget the book. I don't need it."

He looked at her, intrigued. "What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about it, okay?"

He laughed now. "I'm not worried, I'm curious. I don't see how you could've mastered the book in a day."

He didn't know. The poor boy wasn't aware that she was, honestly, not even supposed to belong here.

"I didn't master it in a day." She shrugged, telling herself that it was technically true. She mastered it a long time ago, but it had taken longer than a day.

"Okay, class," Mr. Hardison said, looking back to her and Fierro, "Let's get started with the first chapter." Mr. Hardison went to the board and she began to work on the first sheet that he had given her. It involved a rotation around the earth, she assumed, given the calculations that she saw in front of her. It was not hard to apply the formula that she saw above the problem, but instead she took her time to familiarize herself with the concepts that the problem presented, talking herself through the reasons that each set of formulas fit together and answered coordinating answers in the puzzle.

It took her the hour to finish the problem, but she was satisfied with it. She understood the concepts behind it, knew the way that it worked, as if she could see the metaphorical gears of the problem moving fluidly, well oiled and efficient. She had completely zoned out the noise around her until someone had tapped her on the shoulder.

Fierro looked at her, mildly concerned. It occured to Elphaba that he had probably said her name a few times, while she had been focused.

"Sorry," she said, unapologetic in tone, "Did you need something?"

"Class ended a minute or two ago," he said, suppressing a chuckle.

"Oh." She was honestly shocked, realizing that she only had a few minutes to run across the building to her computer science classroom.

"Thanks, I guess," she said, gathering up her things. He walked her out, past Mr. Hardison, who had a curious glint in his eyes. She turned back, "I finished problem one."

"Duly noted, Ms. Thropp." He smiled, as he would for any other student. She left the classroom, Fierro still walking next to her. It dawned on her to ask, "Do you have computer science with me, too?"

"No," he said, "But I do have art on the same hall." She sighed.

"What were you working on, in class?"

"Can you keep a secret?" Elphaba asked, in a hushed tone.

"Yes," he said, looking at her warily.

"So can I," she said, pushing forward.

"It took you an hour to do one problem?" He asked as they rounded a corner.

"Yes, it did." She nodded, hoping he would give up.

"How long ago did you master our math book?" he asked.

She gave in, anything to make him leave, to make the people stop looking at her, as if they were trying to hear what she said.

"I mastered it when I was twelve, give or take."

She saw him blink. She paused, "You know- neither one of us are any good for the other person. There is no point, no practical reason for you to follow after me and ask me all of these questions." She saw Blondie nearby, glaring, throwing mental daggers with her eyes. "Blondie is a much better fit for you, you can go be pretty and popular and whatever else together."

She walked away, hearing him laugh behind her. She wondered whether he was laughing at her or himself.

In computer science, she found herself looking to explore some of the more advanced problems that the teacher had given her. Unlike other math problems, it took hours to properly code and work through computer science issues. Though she was a good programmer, she knew that she had a long way to go, especially as she became more comfortable with the difference between C+ and C++, or the programming differences that would vary from different computer systems, as between Apple products and PC programs. Although, honestly, she wasn't a huge fan of electronics. She only liked the programming because it gave her the ability to focus on the challenge, to see how quickly she could learn to manipulate the issues at hand.

She wondered, in the other part of her mind, why Fierro had chosen art over a more practical elective. She had always appreciated that other people enjoyed art, and she could grasp the basic concepts, but it was the emotional and ethereal connection that alluded her.

She worked throughout the class and left to head to her academic study period, since she saw no use in looking to take anything that she didn't need to, when she saw him waiting for her to come out. She sighed mentally, wondering what it was about her approach with him that kept him from realizing that there were no possible good outcomes in the midst of them being friends.

"Hey, Elphaba," he said, coming up beside her.

"You have a death wish for me," Elphaba said, hoping that he would realize the issue, understand it, and leave her to walk in peace.

"You know," he said, "you seem to think that I am a bad influence or something." He laughed, saying, "I know that I am popular, but how does that reflect on whom I am or I am not allowed to be friends with for the time being." She rolled her eyes. Guys like this could never take a clue.

She stopped short, catching him off guard. He whirled to face her and asked, "What?" The concern in his eyes concerned her, as she really didn't want anyone to want to know her, want anyone to care about her.

"Guys like you," she said, "can never take a hint." She looked at him. "I don't want friends, any friends at all. I came here to do my time peacefully and leave. I have two years at this school, and honestly, it would be grand if this whole _Breakfast Club_ thing would end before it even starts."

He smiled, "You think this is like the _Breakfast Club?_ "

"Yeah," Elphaba said, smirking. "I am the nerd and the outcast in one person, you are the rebel and the jock, and Blondie is the princess." She chuckled to herself. "I hope you can at least, now, understand what I am talking about."

"Isn't Brian the only one always willing to be friends though?"

"Yeah," Elphaba said, "before they all showed up on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and the rest of the year, acting as if he had never even existed. Guys and gals like you, they don't ever really change or stick around for guys and gals like me." She breathed in and out. "You, of all people, should realize that we don't exactly run in the same circles, and maybe," she said, "just maybe- that doesn't bother me at all."

She walked past him, leaving him to think about what she had said. He didn't follow her, so maybe, she might've actually made her point.

She went to the academic study, reading from Tale of Two Cities again, reading again about the passionate love of Lucie by Sydney and the barely enough kind of love she saw from Charles. She wondered, really, how Lucie could get by without noticing that Sydney loved her. It was obvious to Elphaba every time he came around. Instead, she fell for the social one, the popular one, instead of the one who actually sticks around, until he dies for her happiness.

Honestly, as much as Elphaba appreciated Dickens and loved Carton, girls like Lucie were hard pills to swallow. They wanted everything, but they never paid attention when it was right in front of them. Though, she realized, that she had been like Lucie once. Once upon a time, she would've flirted with Fierro, wanted to like him and make him like her, like Blondie. But, now, after years of never feeling good enough for just being who she was, she had decided that she deserved a break from false hope.

Fierro didn't talk to her for the next week and Blondie sensed it. Elphaba knew that Blondie could only take so much and him staying away made lab so much easier to handle. Having to do everything for Blondie didn't bother Elphaba, so long as Blondie was not in her ears, telling her how out of her league Fierro was and whatever. The peace was boring, but Elphaba was satisfied just sticking to her work.

One day, she walked into English, after she had finished the book the night before, with the Charles-Sydney dilemma raging through her. She was thinking about the brief paper that she had to write, wondering about the best way to relate the concept of Charles and Sydney in her paper. She had opened the door, expecting to see Dr. Dillamond, but instead, finding the room empty, except for him.

He stared her down, as if he was waiting for her to arrive. He looked like he was burning to say something, but she stayed silent, knowing that it would only be bad for both of them if she were to talk to him at all.

She sat and he blurted out, "You're wrong about me."

She just looked to him, surprised and confused.

"I'm not just another pretty face, okay? I don't want to be friends with people based on the other people that like them. I have been wanting to talk to you, to pick your mind about so many different things, all week, but I held back, trying to see if it was truly any better for me not to be your friend, not to talk to you, not to track you down and make you tell me what you are thinking."

She noticed that he was speaking with his hands, an urgency in his tone that she hadn't heard before. She understood the desire, but she had deadened herself to it, knowing that for her, it always ended in pain.

"I finished last night," he said, "trying to understand why you had picked this book, wondering what hold it has over you." He smiled, "You like at the book, as if there are truths in it, truths you've experienced. You act like the book is more of a real world than reality itself. Why?" he questioned her, eager. "Why?"

"You know," she responded. "I'm not going to write the paper for you."

He laughed. "I already finished my paper." He pulled it out, seeing the curious look on her face. "See?"

She nodded. "Yes, I do. My visual functions are not impaired."

He laughed again. "So.. why? Please tell me. I'm dying here."

"Sydney Carton." Elphaba said it, knowing that was the true answer that she found so much value and wisdom in the book before her.

"Yeah, what about him?"

"She should've picked him. Not Charles." Elphaba smiled bitterly, waiting for him to protest her opinion. Instead he leaned forward, the book back in his hands, saying, "I know, it killed me to reach the end, to see what Sydney did for her. She didn't even notice." He looked down and suddenly there was an unexplained tension between them. She knew that he was telling the truth, but didn't know what to say. She went with something more generic.  
"What did you do your paper on, Fierro?"

It was the first time, she knew, that she had said his name out loud.

He looked shocked. "You know my name?"

She nodded, thinking it would be hard to have a guy constantly following you around, harassing you, without knowing his name. "Of course, I do."

He shook his head, thinking to himself. "I did my paper on the concept of fate," he answered, searching her face for something. A response of some kind, maybe?

"I don't believe in fate," Elphaba said. "I believe in choices."

He smiled, "Well, I do believe in fate."

The warning bell rang and she turned away, trying to give him a break from Blondie. Blondie had been so happy, Elphaba thought to herself.

"Just so you know," he said, "you are my friend now, whether you like it or not." She turned back to him, exasperated, only for Blondie to walk in, then straight up to her.

"Look, freak show, what have I told you?"

"Blondie, I don't know what to tell you." Really, she had tried everything in her power. There were only so many ways that you could ignore a guy. Elphaba was not exactly the creative type when it came to social situations. "Talk to him, he's the one who insists on talking to me."

Fierro had been watching concerned, when Elphaba saw shock flit across his face.

"Glinda, have you been telling Elphaba that she shouldn't be my friend?" he said, truly angry from the looks of it. She knew that she shouldn't, but she had to give him a few brownie points for the genuine anger.

"Duh," Glinda said, not noticing his outrage. She was looking at Fierro, sweet and innocent, as if she was trying to play the evil villain and the greater good at the same time.

"You don't decide who my friends are. In fact, Elphaba is telling the truth. Not that that matters though," Fierro said, more boldly. "She is my friend and I would appreciate if you would back off."

Shock smacked Glinda in the face and Elphaba tried, even if she ended up failing, -truly tried not to chuckle at the look on her face. At the sound of her chuckle, Fierro looked over to Elphaba and smiled, at which point, the tiny brain that was Glinda exploded at maximum force.

"You-" she said, pointing at Elphaba, would honestly couldn't care less what she said. Apparently, she was tongue tied, but she stormed off to her seat, glaring at Elphaba and Fierro for the rest of the class period. Elphaba smiled, thinking that making Blondie mad was at least amusing and somewhat satisfying if nothing else.

"Good morning class," Dr. Dillamond said, "Pass forward your papers in you have them." She passed the paper forward, wondering how far down the rabbit hole this was going to lead.


	5. Hoping For Change is Not Reasonable

**Hey everyone! I'm back again, just to give an update for Elphaba and to give you all the chance to be super nice and awesome and review the story. Please! I love to hear your opinions and I would love to hear any thoughts you have, whether it to agree with me or tell me if you disagree with something in the story. As a person who has been abused and bullied in the past, I can definitely say that her approach, while logical, is not healthy. Maybe, perhaps, we'll find Elphaba soon drawn to the one who is drawn to her, whether she likes it.. or not.**

 **Also, dear Guest reviewer, I am not completely efficient in my wording on the subject of computers, but I assure you that it was more of a lexical misunderstanding than a practical one. I know that I won't know enough to create the story on that level. I went back and tried to correct the issues that you mentioned. Let me know if I mess up again. Again, thanks for your words of wisdom. :)**

 **Please review everybody! :)**

Chapter 5- Hoping For Change is not Reasonable

They say that insanity is trying the same thing over and over, hoping for different results. Elphaba knew that that was especially true of human beings. She knew that, logically, Fierro was just attempting to prove himself, but she couldn't help but wonder what exactly it is that Fierro thought of her. He had read the _Tale of Two Cities_ because she had? Granted, she knew of many and much better reasons to read the works of Charles Dickens, but she felt... flattered. In any other universe, she would have sworn that she was day-dreaming, illogically hoping after something that would never happen. But, as of yet, even her dream self had never expected Fierro to do or say any of the things that he had done. What if, and this was mostly conjecture, what if she was wrong about him? What if others only saw him as Charles, but on a deeper level, his "soul" or whatever term accurately describes the essence of a person, was, in fact, much more like one Sydney Carton.

She shook her head, reminding herself of how much ahead of her was uncertain, of the number of things this boy would have to overcome to truly earn her trust. He could have ignored her or chosen a different book when she snubbed him or just moved on to the next girl, who would probably be Blondie, who would be nice to him, treat him the way he probably deserved to be treated. Although, she didn't trust any of these people, she cared about them on at least that basic level. That was why, in truth, she deflected everyone from the beginning. She knew, that in the end, friendship with her would either hurt the possibility for the other person to have friends or would end up with her in pain, when she was the ultimate end to a sick prank, like _Carrie_ , or where they simply found someone that they cared for more than herself.

Elphaba wasn't socially astute, which made it even harder to know what she really felt, what other people made her feel, or if the other person had trustworthy motives. That, of course, could be the reason that her attempts at relationships of any kind always ended in disaster. Her mother would rather ignore her, the result of a mistaken one-time dalliance, her "father" could barely stand to have her, the science obsessed, faithless bastard child under his room, masquerading as his oldest child, then escalating out to all of the "friends" she had tried to make with other people, even though, logically again, she realized that none of this was remotely meaningful in the long run. Her love of science, first based in curiosity, had turned into a sanctuary from all of the people trying to make her something other than she was.

Fierro, of course, couldn't know that she was in pain, that hiding her heart was the only conceivable option in which she was still capable of functioning, of continuing to desire to live. The pain, when she had tried to deal with it, had only multiplied. Counselors made her out to be a coward, "friends" were ultimately non-existent, and so were her parents, if you should truly call them that.

"Class, that concludes our look at the background of Shakespeare, as I had seen that a good number of you had chosen to read one of the three plays by him on the sheet that I passed around. Remember, there is still a few days before the absolute deadline for the paper." The bell rang. "Begin thinking of your next novel choice and class is dismissed." Elphaba had thought of the choices, but as far as plays and poetry were concerned, she had a hard time understanding the emotions necessary to take it from just words to a more concrete lifelike situation.

"What are you going to pick next?" he asked, as if he were reading her mind. She looked over, seeing his intense searching gaze. Why was he so interested?  
"You know, if you want info on Blondie, I know she is my lab partner, but other than that, I know nothing." She chuckled, "Plus, I'm sure that she is more than willing to answer any of your questions."

She heard Blondie sigh and storm off out of the classroom.

He laughed, "I know that you know that I have no interest in her, but that was funny."

She looked from side to side, confused. "I wasn't joking. I don't know anything."

He stared at her, one eyebrow cocked, and his lips pursed. "I meant," he said, emphasizing each syllable, "that it is funny that you would think that I am interested in her in any way." His gaze looked sincere, as if he were more than happy to clear up any confusion.

"Well, I don't know any other girls either, so I don't know why you are trying so hard to chat with me."

"You're my friend."  
"People are never truly my friend," she said, hearing the dip of pain in her voice. She was growing to comfortable around him.

"Well, that's other people. I am your friend, whether you like it or not, remember?" He smirked and she knew that he was trying to get her to laugh or something, but she couldn't understand him.

She grabbed her stuff and made for the door, knowing that he wasn't far behind. "Why won't you give me a chance, Elphaba?" He sounded hurt, as if she were the popular one and he needed her to give him the chance to win her approval.

"I don't get why you want one." She kept walking, wondering furiously why she was responding. Maybe cold silence was the answer, but she couldn't seem to help but tell him what was on her mind.

"I want to know you, why is that so hard to understand?"

"Because nobody else wants to know me."

"There are people in your life who want to know you."

She stopped, looking at him, challenging him, though she knew that he wouldn't be able to come up with anyone.  
"Your parents."

"Nope."

"What?"

"My parents wish that I didn't exist," she said coolly. "Next."

He recoiled, "Siblings?" He asked it hesitantly.

"Nope, I go to a different school for a reason."

"Your teachers?"

She just looked at him. "Yes, that is the emotional connection that so many crave." She walked forward again, hoping he wouldn't have anything to say. She didn't generally tell people about her parents unless she had good reason.

"What do I have to prove that I want to know you?" he asked from behind, nearly making her jump.

"Give me one logical reason that you would want to know a girl like me, besides needing a math tutor."

"Shucks, you took away my only option," he said sarcastically, laughing under his breath. "You challenge me, you make me want to be a different person."

"Why can't you do that without me?" Elphaba said, raising an eyebrow, finding herself genuinely curious.

"You are different from anyone I've ever met." He looked her in the eyes, determined, honest, sincere.

She swallowed. "I don't know," she said.

"Why not?"

"Because everything, in both of our natures, should tell us that that is not a good idea."

"That's a bit melodramatic."

"It wouldn't be if everyone who was ever supposed to love you wished you didn't exist."

Even as she said it, she heard the resignation, the defeat in her voice. She knew that she had no options, but he did.

"You don't have to be that way, Fierro. You have people who love you, so you don't need me jinxing that."

He laughed. "Is that... concern I heard in your voice Elphaba? Are you worried about me?"

Why else would she stay away? Her life was practically over anyways.

"You get to a have a life. I wish that I had your options," she said bitterly. "So, yeah, I hope you enjoy being loved, while I try to convince myself that life is worth anything at all." She gulped, feeling tears come up. She looked up, seeing his shock through her tears.

"Have a good life, Fierro." She walked away, wanting to put space between them, but she only got two steps before he whipped her around and pulled her into a hug. She gasped, knowing that this had to be real, because everything in her, even her dreams, knew that this was not possible, that even dreaming of this was ludicrous.

"You, Elphaba, are beautiful and brilliant and fiery and amazing." She heard a protective, dark edge to his voice. "Don't ever say that there is nothing for you out there. There has to be something for you. I'll make sure of that."  
She wanted to move, but her heart was so shocked and so amazed that someone was comforting her that she couldn't move. Silent tears rolled down her face. He let her go and stepped back. "It's okay if you don't like me." He looked down, sheepish.

He looked at her, a softness in his eyes. "But I, I care about you, so I am not leaving any time soon. Got that?" He tightened his jaw. "So stop wasting your time trying to get rid of me."

He pulled her cardigan, dragging her forward toward class.

* * *

Fierro had sat next to her silently for the next hour, then walked her to class as if nothing had happened. He joked with her, talking about her jabbing Blondie earlier.

"What's your name?" Elphaba asked him.

He blushed a little. "Fierro."

"How do you spell that?" She narrowed her gaze, staring at his face.

"Well, my parents gave me the name Fiyero, F-I-Y-E-R-O, but no one caught on, so I changed it permanently, to save myself the trouble. Now, it's Fierro."

She looked at him. "So what?"

"What do you mean?"

"So what if they never got it right?"

He looked to her, as if it were outside his consideration to not consider other people in the decision.

"I like the original spelling better, personally," she said. "The second one looks.. weird."

He laughed, "You're the only one who thinks that."

"Welcome to my whole world." She laughed bitterly.

He looked to her, curious. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Depends on the question."

"Why do you say your parents wished you didn't exist?" He looked to her, still very curious, but hesitant.

"I'm the result of my mother cheating on her husband, so my "father" is well aware how.. much of a bastard I can be." She chuckled at her own wording, while he looked mortified.

"But," he got out after a long pause, "why is that your fault?"

"My existence ruins his reputation as a religious man, her reputation as the wife of a religious man. Also, my mother strained caring for me during her second pregnancy with her second child, Nessarose, who was born with a birth defect, which naturally, is my fault, even if that's physically impossible."

His look of horror mingled with curiosity intensified. "So why not send you away?"

"They want to see if they can succeed in making me a child of 'faith', though I'm fairly set on my science only path to life."

He just looked at her, awed, as if the story was to convoluted to exist. He shook his head.

They walked in silence the rest of the way. They went to split and he stopped her, putting his hand on her shoulder. She paused.

"You know none of that is your fault, right?" he asked, indicating the obvious answer.

"Does that really matter?" she asked in return. "It's not my fault, but that doesn't do anything to change anything, does it?"

He paused, then said. "They don't matter, but you do." He turned away and walked to class. She watched him go, curious as to how he was so sure about that fact. Although it was an opinion, she believed that he truly did see that as fact. She went to class and fiddled more with the programming issues, all the while, wondering what it was exactly, that she could have ever done, if anything, to change the way that things were.

She could ruin her life for the sake of their happiness, she thought, but that was not remotely productive, because while her life could brings advances to the field of science, their happiness would never be complete, only slightly mollified. It was easy for her to see that science won out. However, if the same choice made it between the benefits for science versus the happiness of a person she actually care for, what would she choose? She realized that she wasn't truly certain.


	6. Chapter 6: Into the Woods

**Hey everyone! I know that this is the first of Jaded in a while, but I've missed being away just as much and definitely more than you probably missed the story. So without further ado, let's pick this back up. Please review and comment.**

Chapter 6: Into the Woods

Fiyero sat in class, trying to think about the last time that he felt this way. Free to be himself with a person that he actually cared about. He was pretty sure that he only felt confident enough to be himself with Elphaba because he knew that she would she through the facade and because she had pushed so hard against knowing him that he felt no obligation to be the person that he thought that she wanted him to be. Honestly, he didn't think the person that he showed the rest of the world was good or honest enough for Elphaba. Though she didn't think so, she was a very inspiring person. She was brilliant, strong, beautiful and her sense of style told you everything that you needed to know about her.

She was modest and humble, meaning that she knew that she was gifted in science and other things, but he could tell that she was unassuming and kind of in denial of the appeal that she should have to any smart person. This wasn't because she didn't care, because she didn't care what other people thought of her. She made no apologies for her style or personality, which fascinated him to no end. She was so blunt about the ways that everyone seemed to ditch her or leave her behind, but in that all he saw was how strong and even more amazing she was because of that. She was definitely going to try to kick him loose, but there was no way that he was going to let that happen.

He saw her and he felt himself brighten. He wasn't a mushy person, but she was just that unbelievably amazing. The fact that nobody else had seen it was ridiculous, but he felt lucky, as if he were the only person to have discovered a massive pile of treasure. Sure, he wanted to tell other people about it, but having her friendship all to himself for the moment made it special. His emotional response to her was uncanny. From the moment that he met her, when he really saw her for the first time, he became more honest and caring, genuinely protective over the girl who refused to let anyone care about her.

He didn't want to be creepy and watch her sleep or anything. He knew that he wanted to be her friend, but he also just couldn't help but watch the way that she interacted with the world. She was incredibly old fashioned, but she also was just like any other teenager. He wondered about her parents. He wondered if she loved the people who didn't care about her existence except as their project. He thought about living in a home that blamed you for things that weren't even remotely your fault. He wondered if she wanted a family or if she just decided for her own safety and livelihood that it was better off to be alone. He smiled to himself, knowing well enough that she could try to pretend that she didn't want anything to do with anyone, but just like Anakin Skywalker, you could sense the conflict within her.

They were walking down the hall, him trying to keep things casual and friend-like, for evidence that they were friends. He smiled to himself, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a poster for theatre auditions He drug her over to the poster and saw this:

Into the Woods Auditions

Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. in the Auditorium

Anyone is welcome to audition!

"What do you think?" He asked her.

She said, "Of that?" She pointed at the poster for emphasis.

"Of course."

"Yeah, right."

"Why not just ask for the script and read it? You like to read."

She thought about it.

"But if I audition," she said, " so do you."

He thought about it for a second. He probably wasn't the best actor.

"Okay- They won't pick me, but I'll audition."

Fiyero went by the theatre room that day after school to ask if he could borrow a copy of the script. To his surprise, the room was full of people talking and chatting as if school hadn't stopped fifteen minutes ago. His classmates had fled the premises as soon as the bell had rung. He looked around, and even more surprising, couldn't see the teacher anywhere.

A girl looked up from the conversation that she was having with the person next to her.

"Hello?" she asked. She was closer to Elphaba's height than his, had brown hair and amber eyes. She was wearing a basic t-shirt and jeans.

He smiled politely, asking, "Where is the teacher?"

"Oh. She's gone."

"Gone?"

"Yeah, she left a little before the end of class I think. She had some things to pick up and the place opened at 9 and closes at 4, but they were staying open until she could get there."

"She left you alone?"

"Yeah, we usually all stay after class anyway, to hang out before we are forced to go home to family and homework." She smiled politely, a curious look on her face.

"Well, do you know if she would mind me borrowing a copy or two of _Into the Woods_?"

For a brief second everyone looked at him, shook it off, and went back to their conversations.

"You want one?" The girl asked the question as if he were a leper, unworthy of such attention.

Elphaba heard his voice from the hallway, asking for a copy of _Into the Woods_ , not even for himself but probably for her, and heard the girl respond in a less than polite tone. She felt guilty, because she was the one who'd agreed to read the script. She stepped into the classroom and saw a look of disgust on her face. Something flared in the pit of her stomach and she walked up to the girl.

"Yeah, him. He is a human who can read. Can he borrow a script?"

Fiyero jumped, as if he hadn't heard her walk up and his shock quickly turned into a smile. This boy was human, but he was a very weird one, to be fair."

The girl was lost? Maybe lost wasn't the word. Confused, unyielding, unable to comprehend words strung into sentences.

"Hello?" Elphaba waved her hand in front of the girl's face.

The girl woke back up. "Who are you?"

"My name is Elphaba."

"Okay... Elf- Elf-uh, Elfie, I am Claire. Definitely, I don't need to give you anything if you are going to be so rude."

Elphaba sighed and looked at Fiyero. "Say my name, Fiyero."

He looked amused. "Elphaba."

Elphaba looked back at Claire and her voice changed as if she were talking to a little girl. "Well, Claire, Fiyero and I are going to leave, because I can't handle even looking at someone so fake as you." She looked at everyone, saying, "You are supposed to be kind. I don't know if anyone ever taught you what kindness is, but it includes showing a certain amount of manners and niceties to people you've never met before. Just from these three minutes in your presence, I can tell you that Fiyero would be a better than nearly all of you combined. So shove it." She looked and Fiyero and drug him out of the classroom by the wrist.

He was still smiling, a smug look on his face. She was still infuriated for no reason at all. Humans could be such a pain sometimes.

Fiyero knew that he should be a least a little offended, but the girl had had no effect on him whatsoever. He hadn't even remotely cared whether or not the girl, whatever her name was, thought good things about him. Then, Elphaba came out of nowhere and nearly decimated the girl. Honestly, the entire time that Elphaba was ripping the girl a new one, he was having to try to stop himself from laughing.

She was looking at him, for the moment, as if he had lost his mind.

"Have something to say?" he asked her, dying to know what she was thinking. He couldn't help but wonder why she had stepped in, or if she really meant the things that she had said about him.

"Why are you smiling?" she asked, as if there was nothing remotely hilarious about anything that just happened.

"Well, you just ripped that girl a new one, which was hilarious, and because you likkkkeeeee meeeeee." He threw in the last part, simply to see if her response would answer a few of the questions in his head.

She blushed and said, "No, I don't." For a second, his whole brain shut down. She was so beautiful when she blushed. It hit him like a brick in the face. He tried to keep joking like his brain wasn't dying.

"Yes you doo. You said that I was nice and I was caring..." He batted his eyelashes like he thought a girl would and she rolled her eyes.

"I like you better than those people, but that doesn't mean that I actually like you." She paused and looked down. "I just hate it when people think that they can treat people however they want.

He took a breath, his heart enraged by the look on her face. It was a look that said, 'that's my life and it sucks'. He'd never wanted to help someone so badly as he wanted to help Elphaba. She was purely good. Always truthful, and she was rough around the edges, but the core of Elphaba Thropp was pure gold. If anyone had reason to be evil, it would be her, from all of the things that he had heard, and yet, she cared so much for others, that he was amazed. He'd never cared that much for anyone before he met her. She made him realize that his parents loved him and yet he was constantly treating them as if they didn't matter. He was not as considerate or kind or as caring as she made him out to be, but she made him want to be the person that she saw in him.

If anyone deserved more, if anyone could have everything, it was, it should be her.

He looked at Elphaba. "You know, Elphaba, you are pretty amazing."

She smiled. "Of course I am, keep up wonder boy." She walked away and he wondered if maybe, just maybe, she was opening up to him.

He smiled. Into the woods we have to go, we're going on a journey.


	7. So We Meet Again

mm **Hello everyone! I'm so thrilled by all of the reviews and I feel blessed to have any kind of platform where I can share the stories going around in my head.** **Please review the story as it continues, because I need you all for inspiration! Ask questions. Heck, just say hello. I want to hear from all of you. Here we go again guys and gals.** _Chapter Seven- So We Meet Again_ _Three days. Elphaba has not been to school in three days. Of course, the girl has no phone and there is not a single clue as to where she lives. With no way of checking on her, he was starting to go a little stir crazy._ It had been three days since she had been to school. The first day her parents kidnapped her for some all day church event that she had had no clue about. Day two was spent with food poisoning from day one. Today was about catching up on all the homework that they hadn't allowed her to do the day before, since she was set to return to school tomorrow.

 _He knew that he was being a little paranoid. He knew that she was probably just sick or something._ _... but the last time they had spoken, well..._ _*flashback* (three days before)_ _He didnt understand what was going on, but he knew that he had walked in at the wrong moment._ _The man, who must have been her "father", had a stern look on his face. We agreed that you come here on the premise that you could have a normal life. We don't see you having friends, so we thought that this might help."_ _"Of course you think that." He walked toward her his hands out. "We love you, Elphie, we want what is best for you."_ _Something felt wrong. He heard the words. Everything about the gestures he made would say he was telling the truth. However, his eyes were dead._ _Screw that._ _"Elphaba!" She looked up, then cringed looking at her father looking at him._ _"Who are you?" the man asked. He didn't really see the sense in the word father._ _"Hello, sir. I'm Fiyero. I am one of Elphaba's classmates. She offered to give me some help on my math homework."_ _... *flash foward*_ _It didn't end well._ He should have known better, but he is a boy. Elphaba shook her head. Of course, her father automatically thought the boy "liked" her, as if, and decided he should find her a "suitable escort", which amongst a religious cult of a church as an atheist is always a grand time.

She imagined the look on his face when she pranked him tomorrow. _Telling him that he was being tutored by his daughter was a good idea in the brief five seconds before he remembered that the dude was a preacher._ When she thought about telling him that she was engaged or that she wasn't allowed to be his friend anymore.

She wondered if he would believe her or if he would even be upset, which wouldn't only ruin the joke, but would also mean that she... Well, she would be back to the way that it was supposed to be, with her by herself, keeping everyone else safe. Maybe it would be better for him to give up now than later.

 **BACK TO SCHOOL** Elphaba walked down the hall, books in hand, thinking about the hole that she had stumbled across when she heard a commotion.

"She isn't even worth the trouble."

"Fiyero, do you like her or something?"

"Fiyero, I didn't know you were into freaks."

He laughed and everyone looked confused. He couldn't see her. He didn't even know she was there.

"I used to think if I was okay with whatever nonsense came out of your mouths, that I would get the better half of the deal. I could be cool and have friends, but she is worth more than any of you."

What was he doing? He was an idiot. She smiled. He was her idiot friend.

"She doesn't like you."

"She hates you."

"She is using you."

"What on earth would I use him for?"

The crowd split and he turned to me smiling.

"Really though," he said, "there are several things."

"Popularity?"

"So I could hang with these idiots? No thanks."

"Smarts?"

"I think I have that covered."

"Dance partner?"

Everyone gasped and she laughed.

"I don't dance."

"Then I guess you can't use me."

"I guess so."

They both chuckled and walked off. Elphaba turned back and said, "Sorry to ruin your pity parade. Toodles."

Once they were down the hall, he turned to her and said, "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"

She jumped a little and turned to him saying,

"My father gave me a speed dating day and I got food poisoning." She laughed. "Either that or I am allergic to cults."

Horror spread across his face. "WHAT?"

She paused. "I narrowly escaped engagement by using my atheism as a shield."

"Your... shield... narrowly..."

He thought he was going to choke a little bit.

For some reason, the thought of her dating somebody... it was unnerving.

He was starting to twitch a little when he looked up to see her laughing.

"It isn't like I would date anyone there anyway."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well you looked concerned." She laughed. "Don't worry, Fiyero, we have plenty of girls we could force to date if you are worried about dying alone."

He felt the heat in his face and looked to the side saying, "I'm not worried about that. Bugging you will keep me busy for now."

"You sure. Those girls were just angry because they think you like me romantically or something. Of course," she said, nearly doubling over in laughter, "that would be ridiculous."

"Ridiculous how?"

"I am not exactly likeable."

Fiyero was not sure if he liked her like that, but he was definitely sure it wasn't impossible.


End file.
